1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a medical support apparatus. More particularly, this invention relates to a support apparatus for supporting and elevating appendages of a human being.
2. Description of the Related Art
Damage to the body from injury, illness, surgical procedure, or the like often results in significant lengths of time for convalescence and rehabilitation. During such convalescence and rehabilitation, treatment often mandates elevation and support of an appendage proximate the damaged portion of the body. For instance, a patient recovering from a knee surgery is often instructed to elevate and maintain the surgically-repaired knee above the patient's heart for a period of time. Such prolonged elevation typically requires a support apparatus to maintain the patient's leg in an elevated position.
In the field of medical support apparatus for maintaining a patient's appendage in an elevated position, it is often and sometimes erroneously contemplated that the patient is confined to a bed, stretcher, or the like throughout the elevation period. Therefore, various prior art structures incorporate relatively large and unwieldy support apparatus capable of being secured to a hospital bed and extended above the bed to carry and support a patient's appendage. However, in many applications, a patient desires the flexibility to temporarily suspend the elevation period and relocate, for example, from a bed to a sofa or chair, and thereafter resume the elevation period. In so doing, it is often recommended that the patient minimize the period of suspension of elevation and quickly resume elevation of the appendage in order to maximize the effectiveness of the elevation period on convalescence. In other applications, it is desirable to conveniently store the support apparatus between intervals of elevation of a patient's appendage. In all such applications, a large and unwieldy support apparatus is limited due to its inability to be conveniently disconnected, transported, or stored.